{"name":"Helicone","slug":"helicone","category":"observability","type":"hybrid","website":"https://helicone.ai","pricing":"freemium","pricing_tiers":["Free (100k requests)","$20/mo Growth","Custom Enterprise"],"open_source":true,"self_hosted":true,"sdk_languages":["python","javascript","typescript"],"frameworks":["langchain","llamaindex","vercel-ai","openai-agents"],"agent_features":{"llm_tracing":true,"cost_tracking":true,"evaluation":false,"prompt_management":false,"real_time_monitoring":true},"compliance":["soc2","gdpr"],"best_for":"Lightweight LLM proxy with cost tracking, caching, and rate limiting — minimal integration effort","limitations":"Proxy-based architecture adds a network hop; less deep tracing than Langfuse; evaluation features are basic","verified_by":"editorial","last_verified":"2026-04-28","source_urls":{"docs":"https://docs.helicone.ai","pricing":"https://helicone.ai/pricing"},"feature_labels":{"llm_tracing":"Trace LLM calls, tool invocations, and agent reasoning steps end-to-end","cost_tracking":"Track token usage and cost per request, per agent run, and per model","evaluation":"Score agent outputs against test datasets with automated evaluators","prompt_management":"Version, manage, and A/B test prompts in production","real_time_monitoring":"Live dashboards and alerting for agent performance metrics"},"comparisons":[{"slug":"datadog-vs-helicone","title":"Datadog vs Helicone","vs":"datadog"},{"slug":"grafana-vs-helicone","title":"Grafana vs Helicone","vs":"grafana"},{"slug":"helicone-vs-langfuse","title":"Helicone vs Langfuse","vs":"langfuse"},{"slug":"helicone-vs-langsmith","title":"Helicone vs LangSmith","vs":"langsmith"}],"body":"# Helicone\n\nHelicone is an open-source LLM observability platform that works as a proxy layer between your application and LLM providers. It logs every request, tracks cost and latency, and provides caching and rate limiting out of the box.\n\nThe proxy approach means integration is as simple as changing a base URL — no SDK changes required. For teams that want quick visibility into LLM usage and costs without deep instrumentation, Helicone is a pragmatic starting point."}